Almaty. Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Kadyrbek Sarbayev delivered a formal notice to the U.S. ambassador to Kyrgyzstan on Friday, demanding that the United States close the Manas military airbase and have its troops leave the country in 180 days, Xinhua News Agency informed.

Sarbayev officially handed the notice to U.S. Ambassador Tatiana Gfoeller in the capital Bishkek on Friday afternoon, a foreign ministry statement said. Earlier Friday, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev signed a law to close the Manas airbase, used for U.S. anti-terror operations in Afghanistan. Bakiyev’s signature came after the Kyrgyz parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of the closure on Thursday.

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